2018 AFC Champions League

2018 AFC Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying: 16–30 January 2018 Competition proper: 12 February – 10 November 2018
Teams	Competition proper: 32 Total: 46 (from 20 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Kashima Antlers (1st title)
Runners-up	Persepolis
Tournament statistics
Matches played	126
Goals scored	364 (2.89 per match)
Attendance	1,876,986 (14,897 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Baghdad Bounedjah (13 goals)
Best player(s)	Yuma Suzuki
Fair play award	Persepolis
← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Kashima Antlers won the title for the first time, defeating Persepolis in the final, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. ^[1]

Urawa Red Diamonds were the title holders, but they were unable to defend their title as they finished seventh in the 2017 J1 League and were eliminated in the fourth round of the 2017 Emperor's Cup, thus did not qualify for the tournament. It marked the second season in a row without title holders after Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were disqualified in 2017 as a result of their involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2016.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, ^[2] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. ^[3] The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2): ^[4]

• The associations were split into two regions:
  • West Region consists of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
  • East Region consists of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
• In each region, there are four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
• The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
• The top six associations in each region get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
  • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot.
• The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
• If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
• If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.

For the 2018 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016, ^[5] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2013 and 2016. ^{[4] [6]}

Participation for 2018 AFC Champions League
	Participating
	Not participating

West Region Rank Member Association Points [5] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 2 United Arab Emirates 87.555 3 1 0 0 2 3 Saudi Arabia [KSA] 84.698 2 0 0 0 3 4 Iran 78.908 3 1 0 0 4 5 Qatar 78.171 3 1 0 0 5 9 Uzbekistan 56.876 1 2 0 0 6 10 Iraq [IRQ] 37.240 0 0 0 0 7 11 Kuwait [KUW] 36.457 0 0 0 0 8 13 Syria [SYR] 34.257 0 0 0 0 9 15 Jordan 31.213 0 1 0 0 10 18 India 27.930 0 1 0 0 11 19 Bahrain 27.353 0 1 0 0 12 20 Lebanon [LIB] 22.077 0 0 0 0 Total 12 8 0 0 8 20

East Region Rank Member Association Points [5] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 1 South Korea 96.311 3 1 0 0 2 6 Japan 75.807 3 1 0 0 3 7 China 72.719 2 2 0 0 4 8 Australia [AUS] 72.599 2 0 1 0 5 12 Thailand 34.753 1 0 2 0 6 14 Hong Kong 31.797 1 0 1 0 7 16 Vietnam 29.273 0 0 1 0 8 17 Malaysia 28.865 0 0 1 0 9 21 Indonesia 20.372 0 0 0 1 10 24 Myanmar 17.220 0 0 0 1 11 25 Philippines 17.188 0 0 0 1 12 27 Singapore 13.664 0 0 0 1 Total 12 4 6 4 14 26

Notes

1. ^
   Australia (AUS): The top division run by the Football Federation Australia, the A-League, only have nine Australia-based teams in the 2016–17 season, so Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4). ^[4]
2. ^
   Iraq (IRQ): Iraq did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system. ^[7]
3. ^
   Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline. ^[8] (Even if its suspension were lifted, Kuwaiti clubs would not enter since Kuwait did not implement club licensing system. ^[7] )
4. ^
   Lebanon (LIB): Lebanon did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system. ^[7]
5. ^
   Saudi Arabia (KSA): Saudi Arabia had only two entries as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, the 2016–17 Saudi Professional League 3rd place and 4th place, which would have entered the group stage and qualifying play-offs respectively, failed to obtain an AFC licence, and no other teams below them in the league were eligible to replace them, as all other licensed teams from Saudi Arabia finished in the bottom half of the league and did not meet the sporting criteria (Entry Manual 12.6). ^{[4] [7]}
6. ^
   Syria (SYR): Syria did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system. ^[7]

Teams

The following 46 teams from 20 associations entered the competition.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

West Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Al-Jazira 2016–17 UAE Pro-League champions 10th (2017) Al-Wahda 2016–17 UAE President's Cup winners 9th (2017) Al-Wasl 2016–17 UAE Pro-League runners-up 2nd (2008) Al-Hilal 2016–17 Saudi Professional League champions and 2017 King Cup winners 14th (2017) Al-Ahli 2016–17 Saudi Professional League runners-up 10th (2017) Persepolis 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League champions and 2017 Iranian Super Cup winners 7th (2017) Esteghlal 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 9th (2017) Tractor 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place [Note IRN] 5th (2016) Al-Duhail 2016–17 Qatar Stars League champions 7th (2017) Al-Sadd 2017 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 2016–17 Qatar Stars League runners-up 13th (2017) Al-Rayyan 2016–17 Qatar Stars League 3rd place 8th (2017) Lokomotiv Tashkent 2017 Uzbek League champions and 2017 Uzbekistan Cup winners 6th (2017) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Al-Ain 2016–17 UAE Pro-League 4th place [Note UAE] 13th (2017) Zob Ahan 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League 4th place [Note IRN] 7th (2017) Al-Gharafa 2016–17 Qatar Stars League 5th place [Note QAT] 9th (2013) Nasaf Qarshi 2017 Uzbek League runners-up 6th (2017) Pakhtakor 2017 Uzbek League 3rd place 14th (2016) Al-Faisaly 2016–17 Jordan League champions 2nd ( 2002–03 ) Aizawl 2016–17 I-League champions 1st Malkiya 2016–17 Bahrain First Division League champions 1st

East Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2017 K League Classic champions 11th (2016) Ulsan Hyundai 2017 Korean FA Cup winners 6th (2017) Jeju United 2017 K League Classic runners-up 3rd (2017) Kawasaki Frontale 2017 J1 League champions 6th (2017) Cerezo Osaka 2017 Emperor's Cup winners 2017 J1 League 3rd place 3rd (2014) Kashima Antlers 2017 J1 League runners-up 8th (2017) Guangzhou Evergrande 2017 Chinese Super League champions 7th (2017) Shanghai Shenhua 2017 Chinese FA Cup winners 8th (2017) Sydney FC 2016–17 A-League premiers and 2017 A-League Grand Final winners 4th (2016) Melbourne Victory 2016–17 A-League regular season runners-up 6th (2016) Buriram United 2017 Thai League T1 champions 7th (2016) Kitchee 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League champions 4th (2017) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2017 K League Classic 3rd place 9th (2017) Kashiwa Reysol 2017 J1 League 4th place 4th (2015) Shanghai SIPG 2017 Chinese Super League runners-up 3rd (2017) Tianjin Quanjian 2017 Chinese Super League 3rd place 1st Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 2 Team Qualifying method App (Last) Brisbane Roar 2016–17 A-League regular season 3rd place 5th (2017) Chiangrai United 2017 Thai FA Cup winners 1st Muangthong United 2017 Thai League T1 runners-up 7th (2017) Eastern 2016–17 Hong Kong season play-off winners 2nd (2017) FLC Thanh Hóa 2017 V.League 1 runners-up [Note VIE] 1st Johor Darul Ta'zim 2017 Malaysia Super League champions 4th (2017) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 1 Team Qualifying method App (Last) Bali United 2017 Liga 1 runners-up [Note IDN] 1st Shan United 2017 Myanmar National League champions 1st Ceres–Negros 2017 Philippines Football League champions 1st Tampines Rovers 2017 S.League runners-up [Note SIN] 4th (2017)

Notes

1. ^
   Indonesia (IDN): Bhayangkara, the 2017 Liga 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Bali United, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs. ^[9]
2. ^
   Iran (IRN): Naft Tehran, the 2016–17 Hazfi Cup winners, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Tractor, the 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place, entered the groups stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Zob Ahan, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs.
3. ^
   Qatar (QAT): El Jaish, the 2016–17 Qatar Stars League 4th place, were merged into Lekhwiya to form Al-Duhail after the 2016–17 season. As a result, Al-Gharafa, the league 5th place, entered the qualifying play-offs. ^[10]
4. ^
   Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2017 S.League champions, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
5. ^
   United Arab Emirates (UAE): Al-Ahli, the 2016–17 UAE Pro-League 3rd place, merged with Al-Shabab and Dubai to form Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai after the 2016–17 season, and were excluded from the AFC Champions League for failing to be in existence for the necessary three year requirement. As a result, Al-Ain, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs (initially they failed to obtain an AFC licence but later won their appeal). ^{[11] [12]}
6. ^
   Vietnam (VIE): Quảng Nam, the 2017 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, FLC Thanh Hóa, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs. ^[13]

Al-Jazira
Al-Wahda

Al-Wasl

Al-Ain (p)

Al-Hilal

Al-Ahli

Persepolis
Esteghlal

Tractor

Zob Ahan (p)

Qatar

Teams from Qatar:
Al-Duhail
Al-Sadd
Al-Rayyan
Al-Gharafa (p)

Lokomotiv
Pakhtakor (p)

Nasaf (p)

Al-Faisaly (p)

Aizawl (p)

Malkiya (p)

Jeonbuk HM

Ulsan H

Jeju U

Suwon SB (p)

Kawasaki F

Kashima A

C Osaka

Kashiwa R (p)

Guangzhou E

Shanghai Sh
Shanghai SIPG (p)

Tianjin Q (p)

Sydney

Melbourne Victory

Brisbane Roar (p)

Buriram U

Chiangrai U (p)

Muangthong U (p)

Kitchee
Eastern (p)

Thanh Hóa (p)

Johor DT (p)

Bali U (p)

Shan U (p)

Ceres–Negros (p)

Tampines R (p)

class=notpageimage|

Location of teams of the 2018 AFC Champions League.
West Region
East Region
(p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. ^[14]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	16 January 2018
	Preliminary round 2		23 January 2018
Play-off stage	Play-off round		30 January 2018
Group stage	Matchday 1	6 December 2017	12–14 February 2018
	Matchday 2		19–21 February 2018
	Matchday 3		5–7 March 2018
	Matchday 4		12–14 March 2018
	Matchday 5		2–4 April 2018
	Matchday 6		16–18 April 2018
Knockout stage	Round of 16		7–9 May 2018	14–16 May 2018
	Quarter-finals	23 May 2018	27–29 August 2018	17–19 September 2018
	Semi-finals		2–3 October 2018	23–24 October 2018
	Final		3 November 2018	10 November 2018

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage. ^[1] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same play-off. ^[15]

Preliminary round 1

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Bali United	3–1	Tampines Rovers
Shan United	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Ceres–Negros

Preliminary round 2

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Eastern	2–4	FLC Thanh Hóa
Muangthong United	5–2	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Chiangrai United	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Bali United
Brisbane Roar	2–3	Ceres–Negros

Play-off round

West Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Ain	2–0	Malkiya
Zob Ahan	3–1	Aizawl
Al-Gharafa	2–1	Pakhtakor
Nasaf Qarshi	5–1	Al-Faisaly

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	5–1	FLC Thanh Hóa
Kashiwa Reysol	3–0	Muangthong United
Shanghai SIPG	1–0	Chiangrai United
Tianjin Quanjian	2–0	Ceres–Negros

Group stage

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2017, 16:30 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . ^{[16] [15]} The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage .

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5): [1] Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Team from the higher-ranked association.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AHL	JAZ	GHA	TRA
1	Al-Ahli	6	4	2	0	9	4	+5	14	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	1–1	2–0
2	Al-Jazira	6	2	2	2	9	9	0	8 [lower-alpha 1]			1–2	—	3–2	0–0
3	Al-Gharafa	6	2	2	2	12	9	+3	8 [lower-alpha 1]			1–1	2–3	—	3–0
4	Tractor Sazi	6	0	2	4	2	10	−8	2			0–1	1–1	1–3	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Al-Jazira 3–2 Al-Gharafa, Al-Gharafa 2–3 Al-Jazira.

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		DUH	ZOB	LOK	WAH
1	Al-Duhail	6	6	0	0	13	6	+7	18	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–1	3–2	1–0
2	Zob Ahan	6	2	1	3	6	8	−2	7 [lower-alpha 1]			0–1	—	2–0	2–0
3	Lokomotiv Tashkent	6	2	1	3	13	9	+4	7 [lower-alpha 1]			1–2	1–1	—	5–0
4	Al-Wahda	6	1	0	5	6	15	−9	3			2–3	3–0	1–4	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Zob Ahan 2–0 Lokomotiv Tashkent, Lokomotiv Tashkent 1–1 Zob Ahan.

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PER	SAD	NSF	WAS
1	Persepolis	6	4	1	1	8	3	+5	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	3–0	2–0
2	Al-Sadd	6	4	0	2	11	5	+6	12			3–1	—	4–0	2–1
3	Nasaf Qarshi	6	3	1	2	4	8	−4	10			0–0	1–0	—	1–0
4	Al-Wasl	6	0	0	6	3	10	−7	0			0–1	1–2	1–2	—

Source: AFC

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EST	AIN	RAY	HIL
1	Esteghlal	6	3	3	0	9	5	+4	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	2–0	1–0
2	Al-Ain	6	2	4	0	10	6	+4	10			2–2	—	1–1	2–1
3	Al-Rayyan	6	1	3	2	7	11	−4	6			2–2	1–4	—	2–1
4	Al-Hilal	6	0	2	4	3	7	−4	2			0–1	0–0	1–1	—

Source: AFC

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JEO	TJQ	KSW	KIT
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	5	0	1	22	9	+13	15	Advance to knockout stage		—	6–3	3–2	3–0
2	Tianjin Quanjian	6	4	1	1	15	11	+4	13			4–2	—	3–2	3–0
3	Kashiwa Reysol	6	1	1	4	6	10	−4	4			0–2	1–1	—	1–0
4	Kitchee	6	1	0	5	1	14	−13	3			0–6	0–1	1–0	—

Source: AFC

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SSI	ULS	MEL	KAW
1	Shanghai SIPG	6	3	2	1	10	6	+4	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–2	4–1	1–1
2	Ulsan Hyundai	6	2	3	1	15	11	+4	9			0–1	—	6–2	2–1
3	Melbourne Victory	6	2	2	2	11	16	−5	8			2–1	3–3	—	1–0
4	Kawasaki Frontale	6	0	3	3	6	9	−3	3			0–1	2–2	2–2	—

Source: AFC

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		GZE	BUR	CER	JEJ
1	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	3	3	0	12	6	+6	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	3–1	5–3
2	Buriram United	6	2	3	1	7	6	+1	9			1–1	—	2–0	0–2
3	Cerezo Osaka	6	2	2	2	6	8	−2	8			0–0	2–2	—	2–1
4	Jeju United	6	1	0	5	6	11	−5	3			0–2	0–1	0–1	—

Source: AFC

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SSB	KAS	SYD	SSH
1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	6	3	1	2	8	7	+1	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–2	1–4	1–1
2	Kashima Antlers	6	2	3	1	8	6	+2	9			0–1	—	1–1	1–1
3	Sydney FC	6	1	3	2	7	8	−1	6			0–2	0–2	—	0–0
4	Shanghai Shenhua	6	0	5	1	6	8	−2	5			0–2	2–2	2–2	—

Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3). ^[1]

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^{[17] [18] [19]}

	Round of 16						Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Kashima Antlers	3	1	4
	Shanghai SIPG	1	2	3
							Kashima Antlers	2	3	5
							Tianjin Quanjian	0	0	0
	Tianjin Quanjian (a)	0	2	2
	Guangzhou Evergrande	0	2	2
													Kashima Antlers	3	3	6
	East Region
													Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	3	5
	Buriram United	3	0	3
	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2	2	4
							Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0	3	3 (2)
							Suwon Samsung Bluewings (p)	3	0	3 (4)
	Ulsan Hyundai	1	0	1
	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0	3	3
																			Kashima Antlers	2	0	2
																			Persepolis	0	0	0
	Zob Ahan	1	1	2
	Esteghlal	0	3	3
							Esteghlal	1	2	3
							Al-Sadd	3	2	5
	Al-Sadd	2	2	4
	Al-Ahli	1	2	3
													Al-Sadd	0	1	1
	West Region
													Persepolis	1	1	2
	Al-Ain	2	1	3
	Al-Duhail	4	4	8
							Al-Duhail	1	1	2
							Persepolis	0	3	3
	Al-Jazira	3	1	4
	Persepolis (a)	2	2	4

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Jazira	4–4 (a)	Persepolis	3–2	1–2
Al-Sadd	4–3	Al-Ahli	2–1	2–2
Zob Ahan	2–3	Esteghlal	1–0	1–3
Al-Ain	3–8	Al-Duhail	2–4	1–4

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Tianjin Quanjian	2–2 (a)	Guangzhou Evergrande	0–0	2–2
Buriram United	3–4	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	3–2	0–2
Ulsan Hyundai	1–3	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–0	0–3
Kashima Antlers	4–3	Shanghai SIPG	3–1	1–2

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 23 May 2018. ^[19] In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Esteghlal	3–5	Al-Sadd	1–3	2–2
Al-Duhail	2–3	Persepolis	1–0	1–3

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Kashima Antlers	5–0	Tianjin Quanjian	2–0	3–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	3–3 (2–4 p)	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–3	3–0 (a.e.t.)

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Sadd	1–2	Persepolis	0–1	1–1

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Kashima Antlers	6–5	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	3–2	3–3

Final

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the East Region, second leg hosted by team from the West Region) reversed from the previous season's final.

3 November 2018 (2018-11-03)

15:00  UTC+9

Kashima Antlers	2–0	Persepolis
Léo Silva 58' Serginho 70'	Live Report Stats Report

Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima

Attendance: 35,022

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

10 November 2018 (2018-11-10)

18:30  UTC+3:30

Persepolis	0–0	Kashima Antlers
	Live Report Stats Report

Azadi Stadium, Tehran

Attendance: 100,000

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Kashima Antlers won 2–0 on aggregate.

Awards

Main awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player [20]	Yuma Suzuki	Kashima Antlers
Top Goalscorer [21]	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd
Fair Play Award	—	Persepolis
Best Goal [22]	Cheng Chin Lung	Kitchee

All-Star Squad

Source: ^[23]

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Kwoun Sun-tae	Kashima Antlers
	Alireza Beiranvand	Persepolis
	Shin Hwa-yong	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Defenders	Abdelkarim Hassan	Al-Sadd
	Rouzbeh Cheshmi	Esteghlal
	Gen Shoji	Kashima Antlers
	Jalal Hosseini	Persepolis
	Jung Seung-hyun	Kashima Antlers
Midfielders	Nam Tae-hee	Al-Duhail
	Léo Silva	Kashima Antlers
	Xavi	Al-Sadd
	Kamal Kamyabinia	Persepolis
	Kento Misao	Kashima Antlers
	Bashar Resan	Persepolis
	Park Jong-woo	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Elvis Sarić	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Forwards	Yuma Suzuki	Kashima Antlers
	Godwin Mensha	Persepolis
	Serginho	Kashima Antlers
	Kim Shin-wook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Ali Alipour	Persepolis
	Alexandre Pato	Tianjin Quanjian
	Dejan Damjanović	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd

Opta Best XI

Source: ^[24]

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Alireza Beiranvand	Persepolis
Defenders	Li Xuepeng	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Shoja' Khalilzadeh	Persepolis
	Jalal Hosseini	Persepolis
	Lee Yong	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Midfielders	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Xavi	Al-Sadd
	Serginho	Kashima Antlers
Forwards	Dejan Damjanović	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd
	Youssef El-Arabi	Al-Duhail

Fans' Best XI

Source: ^[24]

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Alireza Beiranvand	Persepolis
Defenders	Abdelkarim Hassan	Al-Sadd
	Shoja' Khalilzadeh	Persepolis
	Ró-Ró	Al-Sadd
	Voria Ghafouri	Esteghlal
Midfielders	Farshid Esmaeili	Esteghlal
	Xavi	Al-Sadd
	Siamak Nemati	Persepolis
Forwards	Ali Alipour	Persepolis
	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd
	Mame Baba Thiam	Esteghlal

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.

  Player was not in the team but team still active for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	2R1	2R2	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd	2	2		1	2			2	2	1		1			13
2	Dejan Damjanović	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2			1	1	1			2		1	1			9
	Youssef El-Arabi	Al-Duhail		2	2	2			1	2
4	Mame Baba Thiam	Esteghlal		1	2	1				3							7
	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande	1		4					2
6	Marcus Berg	Al-Ain		1	1		2	2									6
	Kim Shin-wook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors			3	1		1				1
	Romarinho	Al-Jazira	1			1	1	1	1	1
9	Adriano	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors		3		1						1					5
	Morteza Tabrizi	Zob Ahan (GS & R16) Esteghlal (QF)		1	2			1				1
	Serginho	Kashima Antlers									1	1	1	1	1
	Ali Mabkhout	Al-Jazira	1	1			2		1
	Muhannad Assiri	Al-Ahli	1	1			1		1	1
	Mehdi Taremi	Al-Gharafa	1	2		1		1
	Ali Alipour	Persepolis	2		1				1				1

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4). ^[1]

Source: AFC ^[25]

Player of the week awards

Matchday	Toyota Player of the Week
	Player	Team
Group stage
Matchday 1 [26]	Leroy George	Melbourne Victory
Matchday 2 [27]	Oscar	Shanghai SIPG
Matchday 3 [28]	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande
Matchday 4 [29]	Ali Khasif	Al-Jazira
Matchday 5 [30]	Mislav Oršić	Ulsan Hyundai
Matchday 6 [31]	Alan	Guangzhou Evergrande
Knockout stage
Round of 16 1st leg [32]	Edgar	Buriram United
Round of 16 2nd leg [33]	Mame Baba Thiam	Esteghlal
Quarter-finals 1st leg [34]	Dejan Damjanović	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Quarter-finals 2nd leg [35]	Akram Afif	Al-Sadd
Semi-finals 1st leg [36]	Alireza Beiranvand	Persepolis
Semi-finals 2nd leg [37]	Dejan Damjanović	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Final 1st leg [38]	Serginho	Kashima Antlers
Final 2nd leg [39]	Kwoun Sun-tae	Kashima Antlers

See also

• 2018 AFC Cup
• 2018 FIFA Club World Cup

References

1. "2018 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
2. "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
3. "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
4. "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
5. "AFC MA Ranking (as of 30 November 2016)" (PDF). AFC.
6. "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2016 version)" (PDF). AFC.
7. "List of Licensed Clubs for AFC Champions League 2018" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
8. "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
9. "PSSI Tolak Banding Klub Terkait Lisensi AFC" [PSSI reject club appeals related to AFC license] (in Indonesian). Goal.com. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
10. "Lekhwiya, Al Jaish Clubs to Merge into One Club under the Name of Al Duhail Sports Club". www.qna.org.qa. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
11. "Al Ain ruled out of next year's ACL". Gulf News. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
12. "Al Ain cleared to play in AFC Champions League". Gulf News. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
13. "AFC: FLC THANH HÓA THAY QUẢNG NAM ĐÁ AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE". Goal.com. 30 November 2017.
14. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2018". AFC. 11 January 2018.
15. "AFC Champions League 2018 draw concluded". AFC. 6 December 2017.
16. "AFC Champions League 2018 Official Group Stage Draw". YouTube. 6 December 2017.
17. "Impressive quarter-finalists promise thrills". AFC. 22 May 2018.
18. "AFC Champions League 2018 Knockout Stage Official Draw". YouTube. 23 May 2018.
19. "Quarter-final ties confirmed". AFC. 23 May 2018.
20. "Yuma Suzuki of Kashima named 2018 MVP". AFC. 10 November 2018.
21. "Al Sadd's Bounedjah bags Top Scorer Award". AFC. 10 November 2018.
22. "Kitchee's Cheng winner of Best #ACL2018 Goal". AFC. 22 November 2018.
23. "AFC Champions League 2018 Technical Report". AFC. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
24. "The Best ACL2018 XI announced!". AFC. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
25. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2018 AFC Champions League (Group Stage, Round of 16, Knock-out Stage)". the-afc.com. AFC.
26. "ACL2018 MD1 Toyota Player of the Week: Leroy George". AFC. 15 February 2018.
27. "ACL2018 MD2 Toyota Player of the Week: Oscar". AFC. 23 February 2018.
28. "ACL2018 MD3 Toyota Player of the Week: Ricardo Goulart". AFC. 8 March 2018.
29. "ACL2018 MD4 Toyota Player of the Week: Ali Khaseif". AFC. 16 March 2018.
30. "ACL2018 MD5 Toyota Player of the Week: Mislav Orsic". AFC. 6 April 2018.
31. "ACL2018 MD6 Toyota Player of the Week: Alan". AFC. 20 April 2018.
32. "ACL2018 Round of 16 First Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Edgar". AFC. 11 May 2018.
33. "Round of 16, Second Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Mame Thiam". AFC. 18 May 2018.
34. "Quarter-final, First Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Dejan Damjanovic". AFC. 30 August 2018.
35. "Quarter-final, Second Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Akram Afif". AFC. 20 September 2018.
36. "Semi-Final, First Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Alireza Beiranvand". AFC. 5 October 2018.
37. "Semi-finals, Second Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Dejan Damjanovic". AFC. 26 October 2018.
38. "Final, First Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Serginho". AFC. November 2018.
39. "Final, 2nd Leg Toyota Player of the Week: Kwoun Sun-tae". AFC. 17 November 2018.

External links

• AFC Champions League , the-AFC.com
• AFC Champions League 2018, stats.the-AFC.com